The 5th album. Twice. Well almost. Yes the remastering job on the album as was is top notch but the whole point of this project for me was the 'companion' discs but as with the 4th album what we get here is the album all over again(except D'yer Mak'er) in slightly different mix/instumental form which is a dissapointment as I along with probably many others wanted 'new' or at least previously officially unreleased songs. There is probably a whole albums worth of totally unreleased Led Zep material on 'unofficial' cds/LPs so why is there so little of it coming out? Answers please Mr. Page? That said he is/was the guitar player in the best band ever!

First things first the original album remasters are good but lets be honest here the point of these re-issues is the 'companion' discs of unreleased tracks. After a live show and then 3 studio outtakes gaining official release on the first 3 albums this one falls down on that score. What we get here is the whole album again in very slightly different formats. To be honest the 'companion' mixes are too close to the LP versions to be really worthwhile so if you are anticipating revelations here then forget it. Slightly different mixes/instrumentals are not what I hoped for especially as there are other options that could have been included here. Still, the best band there ever was though :-)

What can I say about one of the best debut albums ever that hasn't already been said? Good times bad Times, Communication Breakdown, Dazed and Confused and the rest are all present and correct but what about the bonus 'Live' album? Well it seems to me that the band weren't quite gelling that particular night so maybe it wasn't the best idea. What I can say is that this album is overall so good you can't afford not to own it!

This has long been known as the least fave of the earliest Led Zep albums purely because they changed the format slightly with more emphasis on acoustic material which a lot of the fanbase weren't enamoured with but over time it has been re-assessed and rightly so been lauded. This re-issue of course has the fantastic 'Since I've been loving you' and 'Gallows Pole' as we all know but we are all waiting on the bonus material. Again some of the alternate versions are great and some (backing tracks) are not really worthy of inclusion especially as there are numerous tracks recorded at the time but not on the companion disc. Why? Who knows although the inclusion of 'Jennings Farm Blues' and 'Keys to the Highway' are a welcome boost. So even if you own an older version of this its still worth buying for the bonuses.

This was the first Led Zep album I ever owned (on vinyl in the 80's) and has been a fave ever since. There is no filler here at all. Every track is fantastic bar none and I could and have listened to it over and over. Whole Lotta Love is the best known number but just about any other track is just as important. Re-mastering (again) would have been a pointless exercise as far as I'm concerned unless there was bonus material which is why buying this release is essential. Unfortunately I have to nit pick and say that the 'new' material is perhaps not as essential as I had hoped for. The alternate versions of Whole Lotta Love and Heartbreaker are very interesting but some of the others are not different enough to warrant inclusion and the track'La la' is odd. I know that Jimmy Page wanted to avoid what was available on bootlegs but maybe he should have beaten them at their own game and included more unheard tracks which I know there are out there. Still though, everyone should own this album.

I first bought this album on release 20 years ago and thought it was half a great album and half filler but with this deluxe edition adding single b-sides plus a second disc of demos and acoustic versions I have to say that the package is now well worth forking out for. Many people would consider this album as Lenny's best (although I would rate the first 2 higher) but I dare say this one has sold more. The title track plus other numbers like Is there any love in your heart,Black girl and Spinning round the 1st disc is good solid Lenny in Zeppelin/Hendrix etc mode and I have to say some of the b-sides could and possibly should have been on the original album instead of some of the weaker tracks plus the 2nd disc has very interesting versions of tracks used later and in some cases never again. All in all a sound purchase.

I bought the original release of this album when it first came out in the early '90's and thoroughly enjoyed it for all those years until this expanded version replaced it in my collection. The original album is fantastic with the lead single Always on the Run one of my personal favourite songs of all time and with the addition of bonus tracks on CD1 the album is stronger(although the 12" mixes should have remained unreleased). The 2nd CD begins with demos and home recordings which are an interesting insight into work in progress and include 3 very different versions of a track not included anywhere else. Bonus live tracks round off a very worthwhile reappraisal of arguably Lenny's best album.And the packaging and sleeve notes are excellent too.

According to Jimi's engineer/producer/studio whizz Eddie Kramer this will more than likely be the last Hendrix studio material to be unearthed and officially released but I dare say those words have been spoken many times in the 40plus years since the great mans passing.I think this is definately a worthwhile release with the tracks Somewhere and Crash Landing particular stand outs with other mentionable numbers like Earth blues and Easy blues also important in the Hendrix discography.On the other hand there are better versions of Hear my train,Bleeding heart and Izabella on previous collections but there are work in progress numbers like Inside out and Hey gypsy boy which are also very interesting. All in all this collection is not as essential as the 3 studio albums released during Jimi's life but maybe there should be a place for this album alongside First Rays and South Saturn Delta on any JHE fans shelf. Special mention should be made of the sound and the mix which are excellent and the sleeve notes and packaging which are superb.

The first new release by Adam Ant since '95 is a very strange idea. Let me explain,if you heard and enjoyed the single Cool Zombie as I did and you are expecting an album in similar vein then prepare to be dissapointed or at least left scratching your head.Other than Cool Zombie and a remade version of witty Whos a goofy bunny the rest of the album sounds very much like demos and some of those from some years ago. Why these were not rerecorded or at very least eq'd/remixed I dont know. At times the vocal is lost in the mix.That said Vince Taylor is great and one or two others(Vivienne's tears,How can I say I miss you) had the potential to be as good but a couple of tracks cowritten with Chris McCormack(Cradle your hatred,Shrink) sound like they would have been more suited to 3 Colours Red than Adam Ant. In my opinion Cool Zombie/Goofy Bunny would have been a top single but the rest as they are would have been better released via Adam Ant's own website for the true fans.

Razorlight were a band I'd only ever heard on radio or TV and never bought any of their stuff before and to be honest I only got this belatedly because I wanted to learn 'In the morning' to play in the band I'm with but I have found a good,solid album with catchy pop/rock songs(I refuse to use the lazy 'Indie' description).For what its worth opener 'In the morning' is the best all round track here but check out the other singles 'America','Before I fall to pieces' if you haven't already plus some of the LP tracks could have been hits as well. The question is what happened to Razorlight after this album?